But of course, no one helped Ayaka. It was not as if Haruto was some hero who could magically know whenever she was in danger.
The connection between them was nothing more than his interest in her, or perhaps because they were "half-siblings," just as he always said.
In that cold room, Ayaka held the fairytale book her father had given her as a birthday present.
After Mira left, she desperately tried to piece it back together, carefully gathering the torn pages and damaged cover.
Deep inside her small heart, there was no hatred toward the people around her. Instead, all of that resentment was directed at herself. She could not understand why she could not become someone people loved.
"Am I really a monster?" she quietly asked herself.
Even though the students in her class no longer bullied her directly, they still kept their distance. Whenever she looked at them, she could feel their eyes lingering on her.
